After watching a tribute video posted online that includes footage of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, the parents of Staten Island's fallen soldier said he appeared exactly as they had remembered -- fun-loving and carefree.

The three-minute YouTube video, posted earlier this month by a friend of Ollis, shows candid clips of the 24-year-old soldier during his first two deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ollis served in Iraq from April 2008 to May 2009, and in Afghanistan from June 2010 to May 2011. He started his second tour of Afghanistan in January 2013.

He died in Afghanistan Aug. 28, protecting a Polish soldier from a suicide bomber during an attack on their base, according to Army Times.

Following his death, friends and family mourned his loss with several tributes.

The online video, posted by Marissa Armstrong, a friend of his from Baltimore, Md., shows a lighthearted Ollis joking around with his fellow soldiers while serving overseas.

In one part, Ollis -- in full Army gear -- hops on another soldier who's clearly trying to relax and go on his computer, horsing around with him and laughing.

"It was definitely hard to watch because we wish he was still here with us," said his father, Robert Ollis, from the family home on Burbank Avenue in New Dorp. "But that was him -- having a good time."

They had recently read of their son's heroics, detailed in several published reports.

"It didn't surprise us, but as selfish parents we wish he hadn't been so brave. We just wanted him home," said his father.

Ms. Armstrong, who met Ollis before his most recent deployment, obtained the Army footage from soldiers who had served with him in Afghanistan.

"I'm still in complete disbelief over what happened," she said. "Some of the soldiers he served with thanked me for posting this video because it shows his fun side. Many of them told me that he was the best soldier they had ever seen and that everyone loved him and looked up to him."